Marriage & Relationships

The Mathematics of Friendship One of the more interesting studies I have encountered about friendship came from Jeffrey Hall, a researcher at the University of Kansas. He wanted to understand something most of us experience but rarely try to measure: how much time does it actually take for one person to become a friend? His

When Access Changes Your Standards I remember having wealthy friends who would invite me into places I probably would not have entered on my own. These were the kind of rooms where everything felt elevated, from the service to the atmosphere to the way people moved through the space. The food was different, the attention

More Than a Simple Love Song When I listen to Tupac’s “Dear Mama,” I hear more than a son simply telling his mother that he loves her. I hear gratitude, pain, memory, loyalty, disappointment, and forgiveness all moving through the same song. That is what makes it feel so much deeper than an ordinary tribute.

Who Do You Become When You Drink? I have always found it interesting how differently people behave once alcohol enters the picture. Some people become happier, louder, friendlier, and suddenly want to talk to everybody in the room. Others become sad and start talking about things they have not mentioned in years. Some become angry,

The Question Is Bigger Than It Sounds When somebody asks whether people want children more than they want marriage, I understand why the question feels timely. Marriage no longer carries the same automatic expectation it once did in American life. More people delay marriage, avoid it, divorce, remarry, co-parent, or build families outside the old

We Are Living in the Age of the Image We live in a time when somebody can spend money to look successful without actually being financially secure. People can rent luxury cars, borrow designer clothes, pose inside somebody else’s mansion, and photograph themselves in places they could never afford to live. Somebody can take fifty